InteriorDesign

Give me some space, and I'll show you what I can do.

You’re not the only person who has a knack for re-imagining the look of a room, and office, or even an entire building interior. For you though, it goes much deeper. You think about how a space connects to the people who use it—and to the environment. If you’re ready to go all-in and make a career out of it, our Interior Design degree program is the place to start. Here, you’ll develop the technical and creative skills to design interior spaces that meet demanding requirements—not just aesthetically, but in terms of safety, accessibility, and sustainability. You’ll be surrounded and inspired by other talented, creatively driven students. And you’ll be pushed, challenged, and, above all else, supported by experienced faculty*. It’ll take total commitment. But it could add up to a career doing what you love.

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design

Classroom Experience

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

You have a unique vision—and a strong passion—for designing the spaces where people live and work. Our program is all about turning that passion and vision into a career that's both challenging and rewarding. You'll have the opportunity to learn to design attractive environments that are safe, accessible, and sustainable, while meeting today’s demanding technical requirements and regulations. We’ll start by guiding you through basics like perspective, proportion, color, drafting, and rendering. Then you can to build skills in areas from textiles, furnishings, and lighting to traditional and computerized design and computer-aided drafting. You’ll explore residential, commercial, institutional, and office design with courses in materials and specifications, building and safety codes, sustainable building principles and practices, environmental design, and human factors. See our gainful employment pages for possible careers that match the program that interests you.

Meet Our Alumni

AJ Mangas

Culinary Arts
, 2013

The instructors not only taught me basic skills, [but] what to expect in the field by teaching from their own experiences.

AJ Mangas

Line and Banquet Cook at Carlouel Yacht Club

AJ Mangas is working as a line and banquet cook at Carlouel Yacht Club in Clearwater, Florida. He is responsible for preparing stations and banquets, as well as creating dishes. AJ says that his days are very fast paced. “We have a small staff in the kitchen, so it requires a lot of concentration and technique to ensure the food is prepared correctly and to the [Head] Chef’s standards,” he says.

AJ is proud to have made a career change in his 30s, moving from a position as an auto technician to his current culinary career. “I love creating new dishes, or putting my own twist on classic dishes, using fresh ingredients.” AJ adds that the most satisfying part of being a chef is hearing that customers enjoy his creations. “The absolute best is when a server comes into the kitchen and tells me that the customer loved their dish. That makes all the stress and pressure worth it.”

AJ, who in 2013 earned a Diploma in Culinary Arts from The Art Institute of Tampa, says that his education helped to prepare him for a culinary career. “Everything from the classes to the kitchen labs were amazing. The instructors not only taught me basic skills, [but] what to expect in the field by teaching from their own experiences*. I use the techniques that I learned [in school] every single day.”

Joshua Zeff

Joshua Zeff

Graphic Designer for J&R Bicycles

Joshua Zeff is working as the graphic designer for J&R Bicycles in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is responsible for marketing, print, and web applications for the company. Joshua says that he enjoys the calm and chaotic combination that each day brings. “One day you’re doing nothing but the normal routine and then next day, eight products come in, two sales need promotional material done, and your boss is requesting design briefs. But that’s why I love what I do.”

Joshua is inspired by intricate signage, theme park environments, bright and bold fonts, extreme textures, and unique packaging. “I’m drawn to interesting structures and art; anything that is unique or different fascinates me,” he says.

Joshua, who in 2014 earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Tampa, says that his education gave him a realistic sense of how the industry works. “Everything from the assignments to the deadlines and the critique sessions mentally prepared me to communicate my creations and gave me a sense of what it would really be like to work in the real world.” Joshua adds that current students should be humble as they transition into their careers. “No matter how good you are or how good you think you are, you are just starting.”

What Will I Study?

I know what I want. Now show me what I need.

Creating living and working spaces isn’t just about color, light, and materials. It’s about building codes, accessibility, and sustainability. In a rigorous, all-encompassing Interior Design curriculum developed by industry and education innovators to deliver the right balance, you'll study:

Traditional and Computerized Design

Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD)

Space Planning

Textiles

Lighting

Barrier-Free Designs

Interior Architectural Systems

Residential Design

Commercial Design

Institutional Design

Office Design

Materials and Specifications

Building and Safety Codes

Sustainable Building Principles and Practices

Environmental Design

Human Factors

I'm looking for my proving ground.

At The Art Institutes system of schools, creativity is our core, our calling, our culture. We know that a creative career isn’t for everyone. It’s only for those who have the confidence and tenacity to make the leap from passion to profession. Our Interior Design degree program reflects the real world and all its challenges. Because it’s tough out there, it’s tough in here. But you’ll have the support you need to make your creativity marketable. We’ll provide the mentoring and real-world experience you need to prevail, with faculty* who’ve worked in the field and internship possibilities at successful businesses. You’ll be encouraged and expected to be bold. To take risks. To push yourself and the people around you. It won’t be easy. In fact, it’ll be the hardest thing you’ll ever love.

Jim Reiman

Krishna Sadasivam

Krishna Sadasivam

Was there a defining moment when you knew you were destined to become a creative professional?

I embraced creativity from a very early age. Working as an engineer, I made comics online – poking fun of technology and geek culture. A few of them were published on CNET, and that led to a regular paid gig with a tech magazine in Europe. Getting my first paycheck and seeing my work in print in a glossy magazine with a large circulation made me realize there were opportunities to make money with my art.

How do you weave your professional background into the classroom experience?

My clients have included Microsoft, Bandai Namco, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Whether it’s designing a movie poster, pitching an idea, documenting process work, or knowing how to read and prepare a contract, I routinely bring my professional experiences and lessons learned into the classroom. It’s absolutely critical for students to understand that in today’s workforce, you have to wear many hats, work hard, ask questions, and have a can-do attitude. My job as an instructor is to give my students the time, tools and resources they need to become successful in their chosen field.

What class assignment exemplifies your approach to teaching and mentoring?

I make it a point to ground all my class projects and assignments in a real-world context, emphasizing the importance of visual process and research to the design workflow.

How do you inspire students to push themselves beyond their perceived limits?

I have high demands and expectations for myself, and when students see how much time I put into my craft, I think they understand what it takes to survive and thrive as a designer.

How does collaboration contribute to students’ success—particularly when students from various programs work together?

Teamwork and resource sharing are critical to success in this industry. Working across disciplines mirrors reality, and it’s important to understand and work within the dynamics of a team to get the work done.

What’s the most critical advice you would offer any student embarking on a creative career?

Always be open to learning new things and sharing what you know with your peers. Be humble—there’s always someone who’s better than you are.

Anything else you’d like to share?

My job as an instructor is to give my students the time, tools and resources they need to succeed in their chosen field.

Mariela H. Genco

Mariela H. Genco

Was there a defining moment when you knew you were destined to become a creative professional?

It had to be when I was a little girl and my mother found me in the kitchen trying to make a "peach cake," which consisted of everything I could possibly find that had something to do with baking. That’s when I knew a 9-to-5 job just wasn't going to cut it. I needed more of an outlet.

How do you weave your professional background into the classroom experience?

My teaching style revolves around how the industry really works, based on my experience. And I make sure my students understand what employers will expect of them once they enter the work force.

What class assignment exemplifies your approach to teaching and mentoring, and how do you inspire students to push themselves beyond their perceived limits?

I feel that all my assignments inspire students to push themselves and move out of their comfort zones. The more they go beyond their limits, the more they learn and grow as people and professionals.

How does collaboration contribute to students’ success—particularly when students from various programs work together?

Collaboration is very important to student success. In the culinary industry, you’re a member of a team that works together to accomplish a common objective. Buying into the team concept usually leads to positive results—not only in the classroom, but also in a professional kitchen.

What’s the most important thing you impart to students to help them succeed in class and the real world?

Gather all the information you can. Experience as much as possible. And adapt to what life throws at you.

What’s the most critical advice you would offer any student embarking on a creative career?

Make sure this is the creative career you want, because this industry is hard. Not being absolutely sure just won’t cut it.

Anything else you’d like to share?

My position as a chef instructor lets me combine my passion for culinary with the structure of higher education.

Tod Heron

Tod Heron

Was there a defining moment when you knew you were destined to become a creative professional?

My first job out of college was picking oranges. I did that for about a month until I got a job in the composition department of the St. Petersburg Times. That was the defining moment: a creative career with air conditioning...and no citrus.

How do you weave your professional background into the classroom experience?

I tell stories of course, but I try to set up challenges that impress upon students the need to change how they think through a project, and how every decision has implications for a client, an audience, and a budget. It's not personal. It's just business.

What class assignment exemplifies your approach to teaching, mentoring, and pushing your students beyond their own perceived limits?

We do a 99 thumbnail project to push students to not settle for the obvious. It forces them to think past the generic and really try to understand a word or a concept, and how to communicate it to someone else. We’re in the business of ideas. If a client asks for one, you’d better have 10.

How does collaboration contribute to students’ success—particularly when students from various programs work together?

Collaboration is a double-edged sword. For engaged students, it‘s a valuable experience that directly impacts their preparation for a career. For others, it highlights the competitiveness of the marketplace and provides them with peer feedback that, hopefully, ups their game.

What’s the most important thing you impart to students to help them succeed in class and the real world?

I try to give them a process, a strategy, a scheme to solve visual design problems.

What’s the most critical advice you would offer any student embarking on a creative career?